“Just let me check on him.”
“No, that’s final,” he said, and crawled out of bed.
Emily got out of bed too and headed for the bathroom. All that was left of her injuries was a limp that infuriated Chevalier when he saw it.
“Em… no more digging, promise me,” Chevalier asked, and turned around.
She disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.
When she didn’t answer, he walked out and turned to her guards, “Who are you?”
“City guards, Sir. The Cavalry is on a mission,” the closest guard said.
“She’s going to try to get away from you and dig up Leonid… I’m warning you once… do not let that happen.”
“Yes, Elder,” he said, and they all bowed slightly.
Chevalier quickly made his way down to the council chambers and sat down, turning his chair to Camber, who was in the trial area.
“Any better?” Quinn asked.
“No, she’s still begging to dig him up,” Chevalier said. “Plus, she has new guards.”
“She’ll be digging again within the hour,” Kyle sighed.
Chevalier turned to Camber, “Before I allow you to speak to my wife again, I want to know what your intentions are.”
“I merely want to study her behavior and personality, her temper, and everything that might be inherent.”
“To what means?”
“To learn, of course. I’ve been filled in on her immortality, which makes her even more amazing to me. If we can learn everything about her, we might be able to harness that power.”
Chevalier’s eyes narrowed, “She won’t turn.”
“I have heard that… I won’t turn her without her approval.”
“You have to be around Kyle at all times.”
“I understand that.”
“Don’t so much as breathe around her without his permission.”
Camber nodded, “I am sorry about the horse incident. I didn’t realize she was working with a problem horse.”
“We’ve postponed Cavalry training until tomorrow, so you should be able to speak with her today, maybe follow her a bit as long as she doesn’t get annoyed,” Quinn said. “We’re still dealing with after effects of the concussion, and she doesn’t need any more stressors.”
“Understood”
“I have a few banishments to do, and then I’ll take you to her… if we can find her by then,” Kyle said, and blurred from the room.
“We’ll simply ask her guards where she is,” Camber suggested.
“These aren’t her regular guards. She’ll slip them out of annoyance,” Quinn explained.
“She can slip past heku guards?”
Zohn chuckled, “Amazingly easy.”
“It’s harder for her to slip past her Cavalry, and nearly impossible if they are high ranking… as for city guards, they don’t know her ways,” Chevalier explained.
Derrick stepped in, “Elder Chevalier, Cornell needs to speak to you about the baby.”
“Bring him in,” Chevalier said, and Camber stepped aside.
One of the Powan guards came in and bowed, “I need the child for 4 hours, Sir.”
“What for?” Chevalier asked. It was highly unusual for guards to do anything with the children.
He sighed, “Poker, Sir, I am to watch him for 4 hours.”
Zohn grinned, “You played poker and lost babysitting hours?”
“Yes, Sir, I did.”
Chevalier frowned, “Whose idea was that?”
“The Commander’s, Sir. She ordered us to break post and play Poker. I’m sure Captain Kralen can verify.”
“No, no, I believe you. He’s in the game room with Alexis.”
The guard bowed and left the room.
“Well…” Zohn said, confused.
“I don’t want to know. I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.”
“You’d let a guard handle your baby if there’s a possibility of him being injured?” Camber asked, shocked.
“I’m worried about the guard, not my son,” Chevalier told him. “He’s in a… biting… phase.”
“Oh yes, I remember. While we are waiting, I’m very interested in this Cavalry of yours. Mounted guards sound intriguing and I’m considering starting up a unit.”
“We are doing an inspection this morning. You may go if you’d like. You will learn a lot about our Cavalry on the way, though most of them are out right now on a mission.”
Camber nodded, “That would be great, thank you.”
“Kyle can meet us,” Zohn said, and stood up. “Let’s get this over with so we can get on to the Lokesh Coven trial.”
Quinn stood up, “Sounds good to me.”
Soon, the three Elders and Camber were out in the stables checking on the new horses. Emily wasn’t able to get around well, so Mark, Kyle, and Kralen had picked them up at a ranch in Colorado.
“Each member of the Cavalry is assigned their own horse, and is responsible for their care… though I do believe Emily inspects them often and does anything past their regular daily care, such as shoeing, and immunizations,” Zohn said, walking into the stables.
Camber wrinkled his nose, “Why does it smell like a cat in here?”
Quinn chuckled, “We’ve never been able to get rid of that smell. We suspect he marked his territory in here somewhere that we haven’t found.”
“It’s atrocious.”
Zohn blurred to the end of the stable and then returned with a squirming mouse in his hand, “Best get rid of this.”
Chevalier took it, killed it quickly, and disposed of it in the trash bin.
“These horses on the end don’t have name plates,” Camber mentioned.
“One is mine, the Arabian. I’ve never been able to think of a name. The other is Emily’s, and I’m not sure why she hasn’t named hers yet. He’s the fastest out of all of them, and was once a prized racing stallion,” Chevalier explained.
“I see… and these eight over here?”
“For the new recruits. Emily will match them up with a heku.”
“You trust her for that?”
Chevalier frowned, “Implicitly.”
Quinn decided to change the subject with a large chart on the wall, “This is the duty rosters, broken up by day and shift. Our regular city guards do most of the patrols, but our Cavalry also posts in the city and they handle smaller things that the Council used to do… small domestic type issues.”
“I see,” Camber said, and looked at the chart. “Emily then, is assigned 4 members of your elite Cavalry, except for 8 hours during the day.”
“That’s when she’s in Cavalry training, surrounded by them.”
Camber smiled, “Interesting how much protection you give her, when she’s able to instantly turn a heku to ash.”
Chevalier started to get irritated, “She’s almost killed herself doing that too… not only is she hunted by the V.E.S., but we also protect her from things before she even sees it coming. If it were up to me, she would never ash again.”
“Never? Then why have her?” Camber asked, confused.
Chevalier growled slightly, so Zohn spoke up, “We were heading to the barracks next, to check on the accommodations for our new arrivals.”
Camber nodded, “Ok then, I’ll follow.”
As they walked toward the barracks, Quinn broke the silence, “We’ve started sending any guard prospects to Powan for training. It’s amazing what General Skinner can do, and the strict guards he’s sent us from there.”
“We were having a problem with security once the alliance with the other two factions ended,” Zohn explained. “Years and years of not fighting, turned some of our guards useless, and we had to replace them all.”
“I still find it hard to believe that all three factions aligned for a Winchester… I’m sorry, for Emily,” Camber said.
“Again, you just don’t know her.”
“It sounds like someone’s cleaning. We’ll just be brief,” Quinn sai
d, and opened the door to the barracks.
“Each member of the Cavalry must be a Lieutenant, they are each assigned…” Zohn’s explanation broke off when the shower door opened, and they saw Emily crawl backwards out of the door, scrubbing as she went. Her hair was tied up high and she had a bandana around her head. She was sweating and soaked from the sponge in her hand.
Chevalier frowned, “Em?”
She froze and dropped her head, and then put the sponge in the bucket before turning around and sitting on the ground. They were shocked how filthy her clothing was, and how she had a dirt smudge on her nose.
“I guess I should explain?” she asked, wiping the sweat from her brow.
“I… well… yes,” Chevalier finally managed to say.
“Why, Dear, are you cleaning the barracks?” Quinn asked, and stepped forward.
Emily grinned “I lost guard hours in a poker game, and I can’t patrol the city, so mine are cleaning hours.”
“Still… you’re the wife of an Elder,” Zohn said, and put a hand out for her. She stood up and brushed her shirt down.
“Wife of an Elder or no… I lost at poker,” she said, and leaned back against the wall.
Zohn sighed, “Does Mark now about this?”
“No,” Emily said, and shrugged. “That’s why I’m doing it now, so he won’t find out.”
“I don’t care about the poker game. We can’t have you cleaning the barracks. It’s not right,” Zohn told her.
She frowned, “I lost a poker game… I won’t back out on the stakes.”
“What the hell?” Kyle asked, stepping into the barracks. “Are you cleaning?”
“Believe it or not, I’ve cleaned a room or two in my day and I’m not going to back out on this,” Emily said, irritated. “So I suggest you get on with your tour and let me finish, I have an hour left.”
“Still…”
“If I can make Exavior clean a kitchen…then I sure as hell can clean some barracks,” she said, and crossed her arms.
“The Valle’s Exavior?” Camber asked.
Emily glared at him and then continued, “So if you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of the shower floor.”
“Fascinatingly strong-willed,” Camber whispered. “Winchester women were shy and timid in my day, elusive to the public eye, and obedient to their husbands.”
Chevalier chuckled, “Sounds boring.”
“I wouldn’t knock it if I were you,” Camber said, and watched as Emily limped back into the bathroom and the sound of scrubbing continued.
“Wait,” Kyle said, and looked around. “Where are her guards?”
Chevalier looked around, “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Zohn whispered and then smiled when he was told by her guards that she was in her room sleeping.
“I have an idea. Let’s put a cage in the council chambers, and we’ll just keep her in there all day,” Kyle suggested, irritated.
Zohn chuckled and called for her guards to watch the door to the barracks. They weren’t authorized to enter the Cavalry living quarters, so they took up post outside.
Camber watched the shower door for a few extra seconds, and then blurred to catch up with the Elders when they went back to the council chambers. They all sat in their chairs with the Council, and Camber returned to the trial area, being quiet and uncharacteristically still.
“So?” Zohn asked, turning to Dustin.
“They have agreed to random inspections and understand that one more incident will result in a disbanding of their coven and each member will be assigned to different covens.”
Zohn nodded, “Very well, you and Kyle can handle those inspections.”
“Yes, Elder,” Dustin said.
The Court Reporter started handing out large binders full of papers, “Here is the information for the trial that starts tomorrow.”
Each member of the Council opened the binder and began looking through the papers, photographs, and documentation, while Camber stood silently in the shadows, all but forgotten.
“Elder?” Derrick said, stepping in and breaking the two hour-long silence.
“Yes?” Zohn asked, looking up.
Derrick sighed, “She’s digging again.”
Quinn frowned, “Where are her guards?”
“Still guarding the door to the Cavalry’s barracks.”
“Of course they are… send them away,” Chevalier said, and stood up.
“Let me go,” Camber suggested. “I can talk to her about retirement.”
“Kyle… go with him.”
“Please, Elder… let me talk to her alone,” Camber said. “She may be more open with me if we are alone… I’m the only one she knows that’s ever come back from retirement.”
“I don’t know,” Chevalier said, and his eyes narrowed.
“He has a point,” Zohn said.
Quinn nodded, “I agree… let him try.”
“Very well, but watch yourself,” Chevalier warned.
Camber bowed slightly and disappeared from the room. He walked up slowly to Leonid’s grave where Emily was digging with a shovel.
“Can we talk for a moment?” Camber asked.
Emily turned around and then started to shovel again, “Start talking.”
“Stop shoveling, please.”
“No… he’s suffering, and I need to help him.”
“He’s not suffering… my retirement was peaceful. I don’t even remember it, but awoke feeling refreshed and more alive,” Camber explained.
Emily stopped shoveling and looked over at him, “What if the ceremony was preformed wrong? What if he’s simply buried alive?”
Camber glanced around to make sure no one was looking, “If I dig down enough you can hear if he’s screaming… will you sit and let me talk to you?”
Emily looked down at her measly hole and then nodded, “Yes.”
“Is 5 1/2 feet enough then?” Camber asked, taking the shovel.
“Yes, I think I can hear him scream from there.”
Camber began to dig, and Emily sat to watch, unsure if he was going to fulfill his part of the bargain or not. After only half an hour of digging, Camber jumped out of the hole.
“5 1/2 feet,” he said, and stood back.
Emily looked down in the hole and jumped down. She noticed how the hole was taller than she was, but ignored that and bent down to the ground, “Leonid?”
She listened with her ear to the dirt.
“Leonid, if you need help, you need to tell me now.”
She strained to hear anything, but the cold ground was eerily silent. After a few minutes, she sighed, “Ok, let me up.”
“First, let’s talk,” Camber said, and sat down beside the hole.
Emily frowned, “Get me up and then we’ll talk.”
“No, there you are confined… and let me warn you, if you try to use your abilities on me, you could spend a long time in that hole. I’ve told the Elders that I was taking you to my coven for a week to help buy horses, and you know how often the heku come out here. You would be down with the heku’s dead.”
Emily gasped, “You wouldn’t.”
“I would… now listen to me…” Camber said, and tried to lock her gaze.
“Stop it!” she yelled, and turned her face.
“Hmm… have it your way,” he said, and jumped down into the hole with her. Emily wasn’t ready for his sudden movement to her arm, and tried to jerk away from him when his teeth sunk into the soft side of her upper arm. She started to scream, but felt the familiar relaxation take over.
Camber immediately locked her gaze when he finished feeding, taking enough blood to weaken her resolve and allow her to be controlled.
“Alieno,” he whispered. “Forget, Child… tomorrow, two hours after you wake, you will forget all… Alieno. Look into yourself, what the Council wants you to be. Alieno… forget your life and become what they desire. Alineo and Verto, become what they want you to be, show them how life with a Winchester shoul
d be.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Alieno et verto qui consilium votum,” he chanted softly. “Alieno vestry, alieno quisnam vos es.”
Camber dipped his finger into the mud, and lifted her shirt slightly. He wrote an intricately designed rune on her abdomen and the mud turned to stain and sunk into her soft white skin and then faded until it became invisible.
He smiled, “Sleep, Child.”
Emily immediately fell asleep, and he caught her before she fell to the ground. He quickly jumped out of the hole and laid her down. Within minutes, the entire hole was filled in and hidden beneath perfectly preserved sod.
Camber whispered and then said, “So you understand now?”
Emily sat up and nodded, “I guess… I just wish I knew for sure if he’s ok.”
“I’m sure he is. I enjoyed my retirement.”
She looked over at Leonid’s tomb marker.
“Come inside, it’s going to rain soon.”
Chapter 15 - Heku
“Good morning,” Chevalier said, and kissed the tip of her nose.
“You too,” she said, and sat up and looked around the room.
“You ok?” he asked, and gently ran his fingers up her back.
She shivered and grinned at him, “Yes.”
“Any reason for the long sleeved flannel nightgown… it’s… ugly.”
Emily grinned, “I was freezing.”
“Are you ready for the Cavalry training?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be. It’s not as much fun with the guards coming out of Powan,” she told him, and pulled the sheets up to cover herself when Chevalier called out for the servants with her breakfast to enter.
“That’s good though,” Chevalier said, and watched the servants deliver coffee and pancakes before leaving.
“No, it’s boring,” she told him, and ran to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later in her guard uniform as she buttoned her shirt and looked up. “Are you staying in bed all day?”
“Thinking about it.”
“No! You aren’t allowed to stay in bed on a day that I can’t join you.”
He grinned and got out of bed, and he was already wearing pants.
“No fair, you got dressed while I was sleeping.”
Ferus : Book 6 of the Heku Series Page 34